Engineer by craft, entrepreneur by passion—building products that matter | 150+ products built | Founder of Crayon’d | Innovator | Mentor | Venture studio in the making 🎯

I shipped my first edtech product on a floppy disk when I was just 17.

It was 2001, and as a student entrepreneur, I set out to solve a simple problem—

Helping my peers learn vocabulary faster.

Who knew that tiny floppy disk would spark a lifelong passion for:

Technology
Innovation &
Problem-solving

Today, with 150+ products built across 12+ industries, I’ve learned that building impactful solutions requires more than technical skills—

It’s about:

Resilience
Purpose
People

Every failure, every connection, and every opportunity has shaped me into four things:

𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵. 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦-𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳.

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭

For over two decades, technology has been my craft and calling.

- Built 150+ products for startups, scale-ups, and enterprises.
- Led ERP implementations and created cutting-edge solutions.
- Delivered transformative products across North America, APAC, EMEA.

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫

Entrepreneurship wasn’t a choice—it was a calling.

- Bootstrapped five startups in edtech, mobility, ERP, and digital transformation.
- Founded Crayon’d, partnering with startups and enterprises to create scalable products.
- Built strong, people-first cultures that drive organic growth.

𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴?

Well, I’ve had my share.

But as a first-generation entrepreneur from a humble background I learned to embrace failure. 

My mantra—

“𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫

I believe in using technology to solve meaningful problems.

Some of the initiatives I’ve launched:

𝐔𝐝𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐦: A geo-based platform for blood donations.
𝐁𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫: An afforestation drive to fight global warming.
𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦 108: A solution to help ambulances clear traffic efficiently.

I’m driven by the belief that—

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 5% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 95% 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵.”

✅ 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫

Early in my journey, I lacked exposure and mentorship. 

Today, I strive to give back by:

Guiding young talent, especially those overlooked by traditional systems.
Inspiring first-time founders and student entrepreneurs.

𝘔𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯?

To build the next generation of leaders.
To help them embrace entrepreneurship as a path to impact.

...

Bold ideas deserve world-class execution. 

Let’s collaborate to design, build & scale something truly extraordinary 🤝

Email: makesh@crayond.com

Makesh Gopalakrishnan

Sasken Technologies Limited

Project Manager

Ducen - an Orion Innovation Company

•	Steering the product backlog refinement, crafting user stories, and orchestrating release planning.
•	Championing the voice of the customer throughout the product design and development lifecycle.
•	Nurturing team health and aligning the team with project goals and scope.
•	Collaborating with key stakeholders to shape the product vision and prioritize strategic requirements.
•	Enhancing team performance by identifying strengths and improvement areas, deploying targeted coaching and development initiatives.
•	Spearheading Agile/Scrum processes, including sprint planning, daily scrums, sprint reviews, and retrospectives, while guiding team members and clients on Agile best practices.
•	Utilizing Scrum metrics (burndown, velocity) to ensure the delivery of committed work.
•	Driving PI planning and coordinating with clients and Scrum teams to schedule PI demos.

Crayon'd

•	Led the Scrum team for over 3 years, delivering 10+ products.  
•	Collaborated with 20+ team members to achieve successful product delivery.  
•	Managed and refined the product backlog, authored user stories, and executed release planning.  
•	Represented the voice of the customer throughout product design and development.  
•	Oversaw team health and ensured alignment with project goals and scope.  
•	Worked closely with stakeholders to refine the product vision and prioritize requirements.  
•	Enhanced team performance by identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement, applying targeted coaching and development strategies.  
•	Directed all Agile/Scrum processes, including sprint planning, daily scrums, reviews, and retrospectives, while mentoring team members and clients on Agile practices.  
•	Utilized Scrum metrics (burndown, velocity) to drive successful delivery of committed work.

Mphasis

•	Interpreted requirements and architected tailored design solutions
•	Estimated effort and provided input during sprint planning sessions.  
•	Engineered Tibco interfaces utilizing web services (SOAP/HTTPS and SOAP/JMS) per SRD specifications.  
•	Orchestrated deployments and troubleshot issues during deployment and maintenance cycles.  
•	Streamlined deployment processes through Jenkins to enforce continuous integration.  
•	Conceived and designed diverse user interfaces and modules.  
•	Built core framework infrastructure through efficient coding practices.  
•	Integrated interfaces, ensuring seamless data flow across systems.  
•	Conducted unit testing, development testing, and compiled detailed test reports.  
•	Led code reviews and scrutinized unit test cases for quality assurance.  
•	Resolved defects promptly within the agreed SLA, ensuring consistent performance.  
•	Coordinated EMS tasks, including designing queues, bridges, topics, and routes based on project requirements.

Module Lead

HCL Technologies

Senior Consultant

L&T Infotech

Senior Software Engineer

Consultant

infotekindia

Involved in Product development in field of edutainment .
Research and development on Smart card implementation

Software Engineer

I am an accomplished professional delivering over a decade of career success in middleware technologies, with a strong focus on the BFSI, Telecom, Healthcare, and Retail sectors, demonstrating a profound understanding of industry-specific challenges and solutions.
My dexterity lies in overseeing product development processes, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, and fostering collaboration among cross-functional teams to achieve project milestones. Demonstrated excellence in managing all phases of project life cycle, from project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, to closure.
Over the time, I have proved my excellence in both Agile and Waterfall project management methodologies to cater to project-specific requirements and ensure optimal workflow.
Key Achievements: 
•	I’ve mastered the administration of identifying and mitigating project risks, ensuring projects meet quality standards and adhere to safety protocols.
•	Excellent at liaising between technical teams, clients, and vendors, ensuring clear communication and alignment on project goals and expectations.

taplio

The Battle

Makesh Gopalakrishnan

AjayDhandapani Ramakrishnan

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